The COMESA Competition Authority prohibits the acquisition of a decorative coatings business in Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe by a Dutch multinational company (AkzoNobel / Kansai Plascon)

Mergers: COMESA Competition Commission prohibits AkzoNobel's acquisition of the Decorative Coatings Business of Kansai Plascon in Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe* The COMESA Competition Commission (the "Commission") has prohibited the proposed acquisition by AkzoNobel N.V ("AkzoNobel") of the decorative coatings business of Kansai Plascon East Africa Proprietary Limited and Kansai Plascon Africa Limited (together, "Kansai Plascon") in Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The merging parties are each other's closest competitors in terms of price and quality, and the merger would have created significant market share accretion and reduced choice in the market for decorative coatings in these Member States. The Commission held that the remedies offered by the merging parties were not sufficient